Gliding parachute



E. G. EWING Jan. 14, 1964 Filed June 16. 1961 United States Patent O 3,117,753 GLENG PAAHUTE Edgar G. Ewmg, Woodland Hills, Calif., .lor to Northrop orporation, Beverly Hills, Calif., a corporation of California Filed .lune 16, 196i, Ser. No. H7567 l2 Claims. (Cl. Zdl-l45) The present invention relates to parachutes, and more particularly, to a dirigible type parachute having steering means yand improved gliding means, both the gliding and steering lbeing adjustable during descent.

Previous attempts at obtaining a gliding parachute, i.e., one providing a horizontal component of velocity relative to the horizontal wind, have produced several designs, such as the slotted canopy, T-slot and U-slot canopy, and Derry slot, for example. These existing constructions allow for steering during descent, but `are not adaptable to variation of glide angle.

Therefore, it is an object of my invention to provide an adjustable glide parachute.

Further, the conventional gliding parachutes have the undesirable characteristic wherein the greater the glide angle is made, the more unstable in gliding and more unreliable in opening they become. Thus, a `compromise must be made between safety and degree of glide angle, and such parachutes require expert, experienced jumpers to handle them properly and safely.

Accordingly, another object of this invention is to provide an improved gliding parachute which is entirely reliable in opening characteristics, and can 'ce adjusted to provide stable slow descent prior to landing thus rendering it useful to average jumpers.

:lt is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved gliding parachute having unique manual control means therefor.

Another important use of parachutes today is in the recovery and landing of cargo, space capsules, drone aircraft and the like, and other loads not requiring human control in the usual sense associated with personnel parachutes.

Accordingly, a still further object of this invention is to provide an improved gliding parachute having means for remote control thereof lbot-h in steering and degree of glide.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will becorne apparent upon reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments to follow, with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may lbe designed which are still comprehended in the Ibasic 'concept of this invention although they may be modified in form.

Brieily, my invention comprises a control surface in a parachute canopy, formed by two spaced radial slots extending from the canopy skirt toward the apex, this surface being several gores wide. The surface is controllable by separate suspension lines attached at its outer edge, which lines may be attached to means providing controlled extension thereof relative to the iixed suspension lines, so as to allow the control surface to open upwardly and form an airfoil surface above the resulting gap in the normal prole of the canopy.

This new parachute is preferably packed with the control surface suspension lines initially iixed to hold the control surface closed in conformity with the shape of the normal canopy when the parachute is iirst opened. Means are provided to allow the control surface suspension lines to be extended or payed out after the parachute has fully opened. Steering, that is, turning the parachute to control its direction of olide, may be accomplished either by warping the control surface or by retracting one of the fixed suspension lines located -adjaoent to the control surface on each side thereof. Means are provided for both' manual and remote `controlled retraction or extension of the steering lines and glide control lines to the control surface. ln one embodiment, the two outer side suspension lines of the control surface pass through slip rings attached at the canopy corners next to the control surface slots, and take the place of the two hed suspension lines normally tied to the corner of the xed canopy portion.

In the accompanying drawings,

fFlGURE 1 is la perspective view of .an iniiated parachute canopy, showing my new gliding control surface in its closed position.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view similar to iF'lGURl-E 1, showing the control surface open in operating position.

FGURB 3 is a rear elevation view of an inflated gliding parachute, control surface open, showing the structure and operation of a servo control means attached to the load.

FIGURE 4 is a substantially rearward perspective view 0f a manually controlled gliding parachute, showing the rigging of gliding and steering controls.

yFIGURE 5 is a front elevation view of the parachute harness, showing the various lines in position on a jumper.

'FIGURE 6 is an elevation view, partly sectional, of the right-hand side suspension line risers, viewed as indicated by broken line 6 6 in FIGURE 5, showing details of the glide control lines adjustment means.

FIGURE 7 is a partial front elevation View of the right-hand risers, viewed as indicated by the arrow 7 in FIG-URE 6, showing further details of the glide control means.

FIGURE 8 is a detail view of a glide line adjustment loop, viewed as indicated by the arrow S in FlGURE 6.

Referring iirst to FIGURE l for a detailed description of certain preferred embodiments of my invention, there is shown a parachute having a canopy l. Along an edge of two adjacent gores 2, the canopy is in effect slit to provide a tirst radial slot 4. Spaced five gores from iirst slot d is a second radial slot 5i. Both slots extend from the skirt to respective points about onehalf to two-thirds of the distance to the peak. The canopy portion between the slots Il and S forms a glide control surface 6, shown closed in FIGURE l. A plurality of xed suspension lines 7 connect to the regular canopy skirt, and a plurality of glide control suspension lines 9 connect to the skirt of the control surface 6. in this instance, there are two suspension lines located substantially side by side at each slot.

When the glide control lines 9 are allowed to lengthen, the control surface 6 will open upwardly to a position shown in FIGURE 2, for example. Now the parachute will glide in the direction across from the control surface 6, and, due to air pressure, the lower forward edge of the canopy has a characteristic folded-in portion lll. l have found that this construction of glide surface is superior in several ways to conventional glide means, such as single slotted canopies, T-slotted canopies and others. Examples of actual performance will be pointed out later.

To steer the parachute of FlGURl-ES 1 and Z, the control surface 6 may be warped by lengthening or shortening the control lines on one side thereof relative to the other side. lt will be understood that this causes the parachute to rotate to a different heading of glide, where, when the control lines 9 are again equalized in length, the parachute will glide in a straight line in the new direction. Tais is only one method of steering, as will be shown later.

radio control, for .e v25 as iliustrated diagrammatically in FGURE 3, each .an Vmeans at .their lower ends instead of all to one conglide Y rings l.remaining 14 fixed lines are fastened to two the way he is facing,

nl) URE 3 is illustrated a similar parachute, havload il with remote control means attached thereto. The control Surface here is composed of seven gorcs .2a. rather than the five-gore control surface 6 previously described. A slip ring i2' is secured to each corner of .the so-called fixed canopy in adjacent to the control surface plished by the more conventional way ot pulling in on ,one or the other of two steering lines and 1d respectively connected to the skirt at the Vfirst gore beyond the corner. The remaining fred suspension lines are di- Y vided into a left-hand group 2% and a right-hand-group and secured to two fixed risersZZ and 23.

The load il may be a cargo, space capsule to be landed, or any other body desired to be guided to a spot landing by remote control means. The two fixed r' ers Z2 and 23 are connected directly to the load il. The

`steering lines L17 and are each wrapped around a V:drive capstan 25 of a ste ingl control servo motor 2.6 adapted to be operated by remote -cple instead of a single capstan on the load il and steering lineV i7. and may be provided with a separate actuating means in actual practice.

As mentioned previously, it will Vbe understood that the parachute of FIGURE 3 may Vbe'steered by warping he control surfaced-.fi rather than by use ofthe steerin lines l? and i3. ln this event, the control lines i4 le would obviously be connected to a differential Clt trol riser i5. Either type of steering device is comprehended in the present invention.

The glide control'riser le is operatively connected to a reel 27. of a glide control servo motor 29 on the load 1l and adapted to be operated by remote radio control, for example.

FGURE 4 shows the present invention adapted for manual use. The two outside control lines 14a of the control surface eb are again pressed through slip It?, on the portion of the canopy lb. All eight glide control lines 11. are fastened to a control riser 3d located at the right-hand rear of the parachute harness 3i. Since this particular parachute has 28 suspension lines, sia lines at t` e right of the control surface et; are fastened to a right-hand front tixed riser 32 cluding a right-hand Vsteering line 3d), thus putting lines, or the total, on the uscrs right side. The

xed risers d 36 located at left shredder, the left rear riser 35 g a left--rand steering iine 37. r'iis arrangement makes the parachutist glide in a directionto the left of but is deemed preferable to placing the control surfacezdb. exactly at the rear, which would divide the gliev control iines 9a into two porti ns mixed with haired lines at two different risers. With very little effort, the jumper will adapt himself to gliding slightly to his left. fulling down on the right-hand steering line 3d causes rotation of the parachute to the right, and pulling down on'the left-hand steering line` 37 turns it to the left.

I extensionof Ythe control riser during use, for example.

ill

, canopy area, `and the parachute is extremely stable, it is seen that a 25% control surface area can safely ,ves

position, a doubled up portion 452; of the control riser 39 is stowed behind the fixed riser 32 and held in ternporary place by an elastic loop dfi, for example, fastened to riser 32. After the parachute has opened, the operator will pull down on the control riser 3) to develop a little Slack, and then remove the pin 4i after first twisting it to break tie safety tie 4S (FlGUE 7). He may now pay out the control riser 3% to allow the glide control surface 5b to open sufficiently for the desired glide angle. A short retaining leash d6 tied between the pin di and the parachute harness 3l may be provided to permit re-use of the pin.

On the control riser 3d are secured a Vnumber of adjustment eyes 47 ('FiGURE S) which may be attached over a hoch 4'3 on the shoulder harness, to vselect intermediate -angles during descent. A conventional canopy release 5G is prefcrablyprovided at one shoulder for releasing all suspension lines on one side after the jumper has landed.

Each of the steering lines 34 andv 37, as shown in FGURE 5, is provided with a separate extension 51 which passes through a guide SZ on the respective fixed riserand 35 and is tied to a fastening means 54 withi reach of the jumper. it is thus seen how the steering lines 34 and 37 can be manually operated.

This invention can be incorporated in any type of canopy and enables the operator to adjustably direct his motion along a variable glidepath in :any direction. it 'will be seen that uniform extension or" the control surface .not only enlarges the opening in the side of the canopy,

but also changes the flying shape of Vthe parachute. This new shape is, `in eifect, that of a highly cambered singlesuriace airfoil having a higher ratio of lift to drag than the vunmodified canopy. The Iresultant change in air flow through and around the parachutecauses the system to glide with a horizontal velocity component that is proportional to the amount of surface extension. A control surface area of 25% of the entire canopy and a glide angle in the neighborhood ofl45 degrees to the relative wind are entirely feasible.

Either described method of steering may be used.

warping-the control surfaceby unequal extension of the opening, greater uniformity of loading throughout the opening cycle, greater safety of landing through reduction of horizontal velocity to a minimum during final approach, :and greater safety for primary training when used with limit stops on control surface extension. A

limit stop may obviously consist of a shorter than normalV control riser 3h or a suitable means for preventing full As an example of the kind-of performance obtainable with this invention, a 4G-foot diameter, 30gore lRingsai'l type parachute having a 5gore glide control surface rigged as shown in FiGURES l and 2, and with the con- Vtrol surface suspension lines extended nine feet, has a glide angle of approximately 30 degrees from the vertical Ywith respect to the relative Wind. The control surface `slots are two-thirds of the canopy radius.

Since this control surface has an area only about 13% of the total produce a glide angle substantially greater than 3() degrees.

Thus it is seen that a novel, improved, simple, and

adjustable glide parachute has been provided by theV present invention. An important feature is that provisions are made for retracting or closing the control surface after it has been opened, thereby obtaining reversible control of the glide angle. This parachute is obviously useful for sport jumpers, spot landing of foresters and tire lighters and the like, and the landing of manned capsules and space Vehicles, for example, that must be able to glide toward a preselected landing site and avoid obstacles enroute. In addition, a cluster or" parachutes may have the present glide control surface incorporated in the rearrnost parachutes of the cluster, or the parachutes may be arranged in a line abreast.

While in order to comply with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less speciiic as to structural features, it is to be understood that the invention is not `limited to the specilic features shown, but that the method and means herein disclosed cornprise a preferred form of several modes of putting the invention into effect, and the invention is therefore claimed in any of its forms or modications within the legitimate and valid scope of the appended claims.

l claim:

1. A dirigible parachute comprising a canopy, said canopy having a pair of radial separations cutting the skirt of said canopy and extending from the canopy skirt toward the apex a predetermined distance to form a glide control surface of an outer portion of a sector of said canopy, said glide control surface being at least two gores wide.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said separations extend more than one-fourth of the way t said apex.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said separations extend more than one-fourth and less than all the way to said apex.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said separations extend substantially one-half to two-thirds of the way to said apex.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein adjustable suspension lines are fixed to the skirt of said control surface.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 including means for extending and retracting said suspension lines during descent of said parachute.

7. A dirigible parachute comprising a canopy, a glide control formed in one portion of said canopy by a pair of radial separations cutting the skirt of said canopy and extending from the canopy skirt toward the apex, adjustable glide suspension lines fixed to the skirt of said control surface, means defining a guide aperture in each corner of the remaining portion of said canopy skirt adjacent said control surface, the two end glide suspension lines of said control surface slidably passing through said apertures, respectively.

8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 7 including a pair of steering suspension lines respectively connected v a load attached to said d to said canopy skirt, one just beyond each of said two end glide lines on the outer side thereof from said control surface.

9. Apparatus in accordance with claim 8 including means at the lower ends of said glide lines for variable and reversible extension thereof, means at the lower ends of said steering lines for Variable and reversible retraction thereof, respectively.

10. in a dirigible parachute, a iixed canopy portion having a skirt, an adjustable canopy portion forming a glide control surface having a skirt, the skirt of said control surface being separated from the skirt of said iixed canopy portion, said control surface iilling in the normal shape of said parachute when said control surface is closed, and said control surface being connected to said lixed canopy portion only along an upper edge of said control surface, a plurality of fixed suspension lines connected to the skirt of said fixed canopy portion, lixed risers attached to the lower ends of groups of said iixed lines, a plurality of control suspension lines connected to the skirt of siad control surface, a control riser, means connecting the lower ends of said control 'lines to said control riser, and means connected to the lower end of said control riser for variable `'and reversible extension thereof to allow said control surface to open a predetermined amount above the normal prole of said parachute during operation thereof.

11. Apparatus in accordance with claim 10 including fixed risers, and wherein said extension means comprises a servo motor mounted on said load.

12. Apparatus in accordance with claim 10 wherein said control riser is substantially longer than said fixed risers, including a parachute harness connected to the lower ends of said risers, wherein said extension means comprises a folded portion of said control riser and releasable storage means holding said folded portion to one of said iixed risers, and intermediate-length connecting means between said harness and said control riser to provide a number of adjustment positions of said glide control surface.

References ited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,194,691 Adams Aug. 15, 1916 1,685,422 Hurlburt Sept. 25, 1928 2,384,416 Derry Sept. 4, 1945 2,392,946 Quilter Ian. 15, 1946 2,458,264 Hart Ian. 4, 1949 2,469,573 Quitter May 10, 1949 2,919,085 Horning Dec. 29, 1.959 3,013,753 Hughes et al Dec. 19, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 144,792 Great Britain June 17, 1920 226,851 Great Britain Dec. 30; 1924 

1. A DIRIGIBLE PARACHUTE COMPRISING A CANOPY, SAID CANOPY HAVING A PAIR OF RADIAL SEPARATIONS CUTTING THE SKIRT OF SAID CANOPY AND EXTENDING FROM THE CANOPY SKIRT TOWARD THE APEX A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE TO FORM A GLIDE CONTROL SURFACE OF AN OUTER PORTION OF A SECTOR OF SAID CANOPY, SAID GLIDE CONTROL SURFACE BEING AT LEAST TWO GORES WIDE. 